One-Shot: I'll Always Be With You
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Ben Solo has been sentenced to death, and is to be executed for his crimes. How can Rey, the Last Jedi and the woman he loves, go on without him? This is meant to be a story about the lovers torn apart at the end of IX, to mirror my previous one-shot. Enjoy!


**One-Shot: I'll Always Be With You**

Everyone told her that she was crazy, for defending him during the trial. They all told her that she should not be feeling nervous going into the verdict, and instead feel dread - though why she should feel the latter was something they still could not understand. The outcome was inevitable. Ben Solo was going to be executed for crimes committed against the New Galactic Republic. It was never a question of whether or not he would be found guilty. The question was never even about how severe his punishment would be. The only question was how quickly he could be fitted for the hangman's noose.

Even so, Jedi Master Rey sat in the court pew, bouncing her leg nervously, so that her thigh tapped against the empty metallic clip at her belt. Normally, her lightsaber would be attached to it, but she had to surrender it, as did everyone else with their weapons, outside of the courtroom. To her right, she could see Poe Dameron and Finn, huddled together and talking in low whispers. No doubt they were eager to see the judge hand down Ben Solo's death warrant. And perhaps they had a right to be. It was hard for Rey to judge Poe in particular for being so vindictive, as he had been tortured at the hands of Kylo Ren, Ben Solo's First Order persona.

"All rise!" The call of the bailiff snapped Rey from her thoughts, as the shuffling of feet and low murmurs prompted her to stand. A side door opened, and Ben Solo was escorted in, under the heavy guard of white New Republic clone troopers. Instinctively, Rey tapped into the Bond she shared with the young Solo through the Force... and was surprised to encounter no response, even a blockage that felt artificial in nature. Whatever was keeping her and Ben from intimately sharing their thoughts, it was not because Ben was shutting her out. Scanning down his body, taking him in, that's when Rey saw them: the pair of handcuffs that were clearly Force-proof, to isolate Ben from his powers.

His hair had grown out, even since the start of the trial, and it made Rey want to run her fingers through every tendril even more. But those deep brown eyes and full puffy lips remained just the same... even if those lips were drawn in a firm, emotionless line. Yet Ben's eyes, Rey saw, were now only for her as the guards guided him into his seat.

The judge's voice was grave and left little pause as he read Ben's fate. "I sentence you to sudden, instant and even immediate death."

Rey knew it was coming. But even so, the human soul has a way of holding out hope, no matter how slim. She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle the sob.

"Oh no!" she got out through a tear-choked voice, yet the outburst was audible enough in the courtroom that all others present turned in her direction. Before the troopers or bailiff could stop her, Rey rushed forward to the stand and flung herself before the judge. "Please, please, Your Honor! Please! Have mercy!"

The judge actually chuckled. Though his status naturally dictated that he remain impartial in hearing cases and even through handing down the sentence, Ben Solo's case was so damning that he could not help but be mildly amused by Rey's intercession. "My dear lady, why should I?"

Rey looked back towards Ben, her tearful eyes desperate. "Because I love him."

She half-expected the courtroom to burst into laughter. It was a rather pathetic reason for asking to spare a prisoner's life, and besides: the Last Jedi? _Loving_ the disgrace of the Skywalker family? The scourge of the galaxy, with countless atrocities perpetuated by him and in his name? The scenario was scandalous. But there was instead uniform silence, broken only by a few gasps. Poe and Finn were among the few who were not shocked, as they were well-versed on the situation. The judge, for his part, was stunned.

" _Love_ him? And does this... _prisoner_ return your _love_?"

Rey locked eyes with Ben, her gaze crestfallen and yet hopeful. There was silence as the crowd sat on baited breath. Ordinarily, procedure would have demanded that the defendant or anyone else request permission to speak, but it seemed that Ben was being given the chance to speak freely. And that he did:

"Rey, my darling... I love you more than life itself." And every word rang with true sincerity.

Rey beamed, even as she blinked back tears. The judge, however, was unmoved.

"Ben Solo, you are to be executed tomorrow at sunrise. May the Maker have mercy on your soul. Take him away."

The clone troopers hustled Ben through a side door, as a chorus of muffled voices rose up, signaling the beginning exodus from the courtroom. Rey had no time to reach Ben, so she appealed to the judge.

"I need a moment alone with him."

The judge glowered at her, but Rey didn't flinch. "Are you so heartless, you won't allow a girl to kiss the man she loves goodbye?"

The judge finally relented, and directed Rey down the same door Ben just went through. Following the hallway, Rey eventually reached a cell with a thick steel door and guarded by clone troopers. They let her pass without a word.

The cell was almost completely bare. A hole in the high roof allowed moonlight to illuminate a central section of floor space. The moon's glow shone on a tall pole, which Ben now knelt at the base of, lashed to it by thick ropes. His back was to her, his head drooped hopelessly forward, a defeated slump to his shoulders. In the privacy of this cell, he could be as emotive as he liked without fear of retribution. Biting her lip, Rey's heart went out to him even as it twinged. Circling the pole, she knelt before the former Supreme Leader, tenderly lifting his chin with a finger. Ben started when he met her gaze.

"Rey!"

Rey could only stare at him, heartbroken. "I'm so sorry!" she whispered, leaning her body against his. She could feel the vibration of Ben's chuckle: a low, deep, glorious rumble.

"For what? This? I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this. Can't think of any right now, but..."

He was trying to lift her spirits where they could not be; she knew it. "It would have been better if we had never met; none of this would have happened!" she despaired. _I wouldn't feel like I'm being torn in two..._

"Rey... look at me..." Ben prompted, his voice soothingly gentle and almost paternal. "I'd rather die tomorrow... than live a hundred years without knowing you."

The reminder of his pending execution re-invigorated Rey, and she began to shed her Jedi robes, study the knots that bound her love. "I can take your place! You can take my robes and walk right out! Use mind tricks on the guards!" Her voice was airy and strained as she tried to speak through the tears that had begun to flow anew.

"No, Rey!" Ben tried to stay her hand, even as he was moved to tears himself. "I can't let you do this!"

"And I can't let you die..." Rey whispered brokenly.

"But if you do this, then _you_ will die!"

Rey caressed Ben's face. "I can't leave you!"

"You never will," Ben tried to smile tenderly at her. "No matter what happens to me, I'll always be with you. Forever."

And with that, he bent his face to Rey's and kissed her. Rey whimpered plaintively into his lips and kissed back, sinking her fingers into his hair and clutching him close. After what seemed like several galactic years, they broke apart. Lacing his hands through hers, Ben now placed both on Rey's abdomen. Rey frowned in curiosity, but studied Ben as he closed his eyes in what could only be described as deep concentration. After several moments, he finally released his hold on Rey's stomach and sat back, strangely calm. Almost satisfied.

"Have you ever heard the tale of Darth Plagieus the Wise?" Rey shook her head, baffled, and Ben chuckled. "I thought not. It's a Sith legend." He drew his arms about Rey, bringing her closer so that she nestled into his lap. "Darth Plagieus was so powerful in the Force that he could manipulate it to create life itself. And of course, he taught his apprentice everything he knew."

Rey's brow furrowed curiously as she digested the story. Where was Ben going with this? Sensing her thoughts through their Bond, Ben turned her face to his.

"I just placed a baby in your womb. A boy. He will be the Force's baby, but he will also be my baby. So you have something to remember me by."

Rey gaped, her eyes averting from Ben's as she tried to process her shock. "That's not possible. I'm... virgin. We never have..." She blushed.

"My dear Rey, with the Force, all things are possible," Ben smiled kindly. After a moment, Rey snuggled into his side and gazed up at the moon shining through the gaping hole above them.

"Can you tell me more about your training? About... everything? I want our baby to know all about his father."

Smiling, the pair spent many hours talking and kissing. All the while, the moon sank lower and lower.

"Do you know when I first started... loving you? When you fired that blaster at me after discovering our Bond!"

Rey laughed with Ben. "I started loving you when we touched hands. That night in the hut."

The light was beginning to grey, and Rey knew their time together was almost up. Not wanting the guard to have to tear her away from him, a weeping Rey took Ben's face in her hands and kissed him long and sensuously.

"Goodbye!" she wept. "I love you!"

And then she forced her feet to move away from her true love forever.

* * *

The drum beats were steady and ominous as Ben Solo was brought forward to the gallows. In the crowd, Rey watched her lover, the father of her unborn child, led to his death. She came apart on Finn's shoulder, crying there. Finn had the decency to console her, as did Poe Dameron.

"Mr. Solo," the bailiff called. "Do you wish to make a final statement?"

Ben nodded, and his eyes found Rey in the crowd. "Rey!" he cried out. "I love you!"

Rey hicupped back tears. "I love you too, Ben."

The hangman reached for the lever. Rey averted her eyes. She heard the trapdoor open and the rope go taut. And then she felt Ben's Force essence ripped from existence, their Bond torn asunder.

Rey was granted permission to take Ben's body. To the New Republic, it was just the corpse of a war criminal now, and it would have taken too much effort, garnered too much risk, to even hang it in the public square as an example, where scavengers and looters and grave-diggers could make off with it. With the help of her friends, Rey spirited the body of her lost love away to Ahch-To, where the young Jedi had promised to live out the rest of her days and start a Grey Jedi Academy. As Ben Solo was buried, Rey vowed to herself in a whisper, so only Finn and Poe could hear, "I will never love again." She stood and turned to face them. "From now on, I am Rey Solo." She decided to take Ben's name, which she likely would have done anyway as his wife, had he lived and wished to marry her.

"Finn, Poe: can you keep a secret?"

The men nodded as Rey cradled her abdomen.

"The Force has found favor with me. I am with child."

There was silence for a long moment. Then Poe spoke:

"It's his, isn't it?"

"Yes," Rey whispered softly.

Finn looked to Poe and stepped forward. "Then, we are your first volunteers to help raise it. And establish your Academy."

* * *

The snow whipped across the mountainous plains of Ahch-To as Rey laid flowers at her lover's grave. Planting a kiss to the headstone, she rose to her feet and turned to watch all the lights in the little stone huts go out, one by one. Her Grey Jedi Padawans observed a strict curfew, especially during the winter months, when much meditation was in order.

Yet one hut's light stayed on. Smiling softly to herself, Rey proceeded down from the gravesite and inside. Leaning against the doorframe, she smiled watching her son jump on his bed, by the light of the fire.

"Benny," she crooned softly. "Time for bed."

Ben Solo Jr. flopped into a sitting position and pouted. "But Uncle Finn and Uncle Poe aren't back yet!"

"They'll be here soon to say goodnight," Rey promised as she tucked him in. She brushed back his hair - midnight black, like his father's - and planted a kiss to his forehead.

"Someone say our names?" Rey turned to see Finn and Poe practically blown into the hut, just returned from a mission. Benny looked like he wanted to jump right back out of bed, but refrained as his adoptive uncles approached. Good night hugs were exchanged.

"Good night, Uncle Finn."

"Good night, kiddo."

"Good night, Uncle Poe."

"Good night, little Jedi."

Rey smiled warmly and hugged both men, sighing in relief that the weather had not brought their flight harm. "You can put the supplies in the 'fresher hut, then go straight to bed."

"Yes... Master Solo," Poe winked. Rey blushed. Even now, it was sometimes startling to hear herself addressed by her new name. But Finn and Poe had both respected her wishes; Finn had once told her he even thought it quite noble.

After Finn and Poe popped back outside, little Benny asked, "Mama? Can you tell me about Daddy?"

Rey cuddled her child close to her. "He was brave. Passionate. Strong in the Force. _Very_ handsome," she beamed. "A lot like you." She paused to collect himself. "Your father and I shared a deep Bond. And I know he loved you. He loved you very much." She gave Benny another kiss. "Sweet dreams, my little Jedi."

"Night, Mama."

And smiling, Rey turned out the light. Retreating to her own chambers, she climbed into bed, facing the nightstand upon which a single picture sat. Beaming tenderly at it, eyes full of love, Rey kissed the image. "Good night, my wonderful Ben. I'll always be with you. Forever."


End file.
